UK Procurement Glossary
Open Procedure
A single-stage UK public sector procurement procedure where any interested supplier can submit a bid response directly to the published tender.
Definition
The open procedure is the simplest UK public sector procurement procedure. The contracting authority publishes the tender; any supplier can respond directly with a single combined submission covering both selection (qualification) and award (technical/commercial) criteria. Evaluation considers both in one pass.
Open procedure is fast and well-suited to lower-complexity contracts. It attracts more bidders (no pre-qualification filter) but can mean more responses to evaluate and a lower individual win rate for any one bidder.
How this affects your bid
In open procedures you compete against every supplier who fancies the contract. Win-themes and tight scoring against the published criteria matter more than ever — generic capability statements lose out fast.
Common questions about open procedure
How long are open-procedure tender responses open?
Typically 30-35 days from publication on Find a Tender Service for above-threshold contracts under the Procurement Act 2023.
Do I need to pass a selection questionnaire first?
In open procedure, selection and award criteria are evaluated together from a single submission — no separate selection stage. In restricted procedure they are split.
Related terms
Restricted Procedure
A two-stage UK public sector procurement: suppliers first pass a Selection Questionnair…
Selection Questionnaire (SQ)
A standardised UK public sector questionnaire used to assess supplier eligibility, fina…
Invitation to Tender (ITT)
The formal document a UK public sector buyer issues inviting suppliers to submit a tend…
Award Criteria
The published criteria a UK public sector buyer uses to evaluate and score bid response…
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